This Sunday the youth are beginning a new study in Sunday School. We will be Getting Dirty: Digging into Issues of Faith. I’m pretty excited about some of the topics we will be covering. We will be digging into sin this Sunday. This week we will be answering the question, “What is the big deal with sin?” That question raisers another question for me, “Is sin really that bad?” Let’s face it, we all sin. In churches we seem to always point out the fact that we all sin. I’ve even heard sinning called just another part of life. It is almost like we put sin on the same level as breathing. Breathing is just part of being alive. Sinning is just part of being alive. We expect our people to sin. I’ve even heard Christians suggest we should just not sin too much. Is a little sin okay? The truth is sinning is not okay. Even a little sin is not okay. Sin is sin. God does not have certain categories of sin. The categories we follow for sin come from our culture. More about what we think is sinful or not is based on...

I’ve been told that this weekend will be a busy and amazing time here in Mount Olive. This weekend the town will be swarmed with travelers visiting the NC Pickle Festival. This will also be my first Pickle Festival. To add to all this the youth will be working at the festival as a fundraiser. I’m attempting to plan the fundraiser with no real knowledge of the festival. To be honest, I have no idea what to expect. I hate not knowing what to expect. I think it is a control issue. I like to be in control. When I feel like I’m in control, I get a sense that everything is going to be okay. It is a sense of security for me. We all have things that make us feel safe and secure. Without those things in our lives we could become controlled by fear. That fear could stop us from living our lives. When I feel overwhelmed with fear, I realize how much I need God. After all, God is always in control. Even when life feels like it is falling apart around you, God is still in control. Just knowing I am not alone in life...